Former Ottawa police chief Sloly calls for national security reforms following convoy commission report

Sloly on Emergencies Act 'I was never asked' Former Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly explains the choices he made during the 'Freedom Convoy' and what he would've done differently.

In an exclusive interview, former Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly calls for Canada's national security framework to be revaluated and for the numerous policing recommendations contained in the newly-released Emergencies Act inquiry report, to be followed through on.

"Those recommendations echo recommendations that I made myself… We have a national security framework, it is not as robust as it needs to be, it has not had the investments it should have. That goes back decades. And when we come across these black swan type events that are literally once-in-a-generation, they get tested to the fullest," Sloly told Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, reacting to the findings of the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) released on Friday.

"And I think structurally, we were found lacking within our national security and policing intelligence capabilities. I suspect a lot of that has been worked on over the last year, I do not suspect that it's where it needs to be to address the future. And so hopefully, these recommendations will be taken seriously and acted on," Sloly said.

Commissioner Paul Rouleau's report was highly critical of local law enforcement's early "Freedom Convoy" planning and response, concluding that the protests would not have spun out of control if not for a series of failures by the Ottawa Police Service (OPS).

However Rouleau found that it would be "all too easy" to attribute all of the deficiencies solely to Sloly, who said in the interview that he wishes he had found a way to better convey the severity of what was going on in Ottawa within his own force, to the city, and to the millions of Canadians that were watching the "Freedom Convoy" unfold.

Rouleau said in particular, Sloly's statement that there may not be a policing solution to the demonstrations attracted "disproportionate scrutiny." On the other hand, Sloly did sometimes cross the boundary and made operational decisions, which was not his role, the report found.

The report delves into the series of problems with the police response, including intelligence gathering failures, inadequate planning, poor communication and a lack of coordination, and nearly half of the 56 recommendations are focused on policing.

Sloly resigned weeks into the protests amid heavy criticism that the OPS was not doing enough to enforce the law, dismantle the occupation, and remove the truckers from the city, a finding that has borne out in Rouleau's findings.

In the POEC witness box for twice as long as any other key player who testified, Sloly faced intense scrutiny over his role during the protests. During his testimony—one week after the OPS Board named his permanent replacement—the former police chief got emotional in defending how OPS policed the protests.

Here is a transcript of his sit-down on Friday's CTV News Channel's Power Play with Joyce Napier, it has been edited for clarity.

Napier: Mr. Sloly, welcome, and thanks for taking the time... So Justice Rouleau says that yes, there were policing failures. We understand that, we lived them. But, you were a little bit of a scapegoat, that not all those policing failures were your failures. Do you feel vindicated today? Why did you feel that you wanted to come here and react to this report?

Sloly: "Well first of all, I made a commitment to myself and my family, that I would not speak publicly in regards to any of the aspects of the reviews… until the commissioners report was tabled. And so this is my first time doing an interview in regards to my involvement during the 'Freedom Convoy' events.

"The word that you used, the words that Justice Rouleau used are quite frankly, the words that Canadians from coast to coast to coast have relayed to me over the last year. So I'm not surprised that it found its way into the report… I know that I did absolutely the very best job that I could. And the officers who worked for me, the members of the Ottawa Police Service and the circumstances they found themselves in— far from ideal—did their best.

"Clearly, there were areas that we were wanting. And clearly there were areas that on reflection, I wish I had a chance to do differently."

Napier: Give me an example of that, one example of what you wished you had done differently?

Sloly: "There was a range of early communication in the days… after the trucks arrived, that people were trying to figure out exactly what this was. I don't think we had a word for it. Still, to this day, we call it 'occupations,' 'demonstrations,' I've heard the word 'insurgencies.'

"I don't know if we've settled on a single word and trying to communicate that as a police chief min a jurisdiction obviously overwhelmed by circumstances that are national in scope, were very difficult. And I wish I had the more precise language in order to convey that within my organization, convey that to the citizens, the million people that lived in the city and the 35 million Canadians. It was a challenge."

Napier: You needed help. Who was not listening to you at first? I remember you saying that you felt you were sort of left out there without any help. Who was not listening to you, who did not help you?

Sloly: "Thank you. First of all, I don't recall that statement myself, but there certainly was that sense of pressure and urgency happening within the Ottawa Police Service, within the city of Ottawa.

"I did make a statement that there might not be a policing solution for this. And for me that was, first of all a statement of 'we're doing everything we can, but we're going to need some more help.' And I think that was a call not just to any particular level of government. That was a call to Canadians to understand that this was a national security situation.

"It required a whole of society investment in some small or significant way, from a number of actors, whether elected or unelected, whether they be police or justice, or whether they just be thought leaders and thoughtful Canadians."

Napier: How early on did you think that the Emergencies Act would be the tool you needed?

Sloly: "Never."

Napier: You were never for it?

Sloly: "I was never asked about it. The plans that we were putting in place were based…"

Napier: There were never any conversations about that?

Sloly: "Not directly with me. And I've already been on record in terms of that with the commission and standing committee [Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency]. The plans that were being put in place, those that we were responsible for in Ottawa, and those that were then part of the larger joint planning group between the RCMP and OPP did not presume any other emergency powers other than what was announced, I think on the last Friday that I was in office, by the provincial government."

Napier: So there are some recommendations that I find quite puzzling. The 'we don't have that in Canada yet'-kind of recommendations. One of them is to consider the creation of a single national intelligence coordinator for major events. If you had had that, or even better information and intelligence sharing between all levels of government and police forces… What do you think about those recommendations? Would those have helped you?

Sloly: "Those recommendations echo recommendations that I made myself again before the standing committee, as well as the commission. We have a national security framework. It is not as robust as it needs to be, it has not as not had the investments it should have had. That goes back decades.

"And when we come across these black swan type events that are literally once-in-a-generation, they get tested to the fullest. And I think structurally, we were found lacking within our national security and policing intelligence capabilities. I suspect a lot of that has been worked on over the last year, I do not suspect that it's where it needs to be to address the future. And so hopefully, these recommendations will be taken seriously and acted on."

Napier: Were you dealing with a police officers in your ranks that were very sympathetic to the convoy, to the people that were downtown that were practically living downtown Ottawa for three weeks? Was that one of your problems?

Sloly: "There were millions of people in this country that were very sympathetic to what was going on."

Napier: Yes, but I'm asking about your police.

Sloly: "And I was about to answer. So yes. Yes, there were members of my police service that expressed a great deal of sympathy for the range of issues that coalesced around the activities."

Napier: Was it difficult for you to make them do their job?

Sloly: "No, because people can hold personal opinions around a range of issues and still come to work as a nurse, as a journalist, and as a police officer, and complete their duties. Where there were clear conflicts, we initiated, I initiated investigations during my watch. And I suspect some of them are still going on through the judicial process."

Napier: You felt compelled to resign. Do you did you resign because you figured you were becoming, you know, sort of a focal point. Why did you resign before this was settled?

Sloly: "I was clear in my testimony before Justice Rouleau. And I'll be clear again. My resignation is a very complicated issue as it is for anybody at that age and stage, to make such a resignation. But the number one issue is for public safety. It was clear to me by what was being reported on this channel and many other channels, that there was a disproportionate level of concern around my leadership.

"And that therefore impacted the trust and confidence of the Ottawa Police Service. That I believe had a direct correlation to the amount of resources and the timing of those resources, and the public's confidence and patience for those resources to arrive.

"I took myself out of that equation, the resources arrived, the plan that was in place was executed and done so very well. And we were able to resolve this safely with no loss of life and no serious injuries."

Napier: I'm going to go, probably on a tangent, because a lot of people in Ottawa were aggravated by this. There was an occupation downtown Ottawa, there was a whole bunch of illegal things happening. But as soon as you got out of the downtown core, people were getting parking tickets… So I'm wondering, they were doing their job outside of there. But it seemed that there was a lot of cooperation going on in the downtown core from your police officers. How did that, how did that play?

Sloly: "Well, for me, there is no real complication. We had a massive national security event primarily playing itself out in a small few square kilometers of what is geographically the largest municipality in Canada, and the second largest in North America.

"I had two responsibilities during that two and a half weeks. I was the chief of police of the city of Ottawa, in a large jurisdiction that still required police services on a 24-hour basis. And that's what we did. We also had a 24-hour national security event playing itself out right below these studios.

"And so we had two different theaters going on. And so for people to try to compare what was going on within the microcosm that was a national security event, and the rest of a city that would hold six other major municipalities, I can understand the confusion, but that is the reality.

"We had everyday policing going on everywhere else, and we had a unique challenge of policing and national security right here below the studios."

Napier: "That's unfortunately all the time we have, but thanks again for coming, for taking the time to talk to us. Former Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly, have a nice weekend.

Sloly: "Thank you so much."

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Michael Woods